Air bearing slider having debris removing channels

Abstract

An air bearing slider having debris removing channels for a hard disk drive. An air bearing slider contains a center pad having multiple longitudinal debris channels cut therein approximately 1-3 microns wide and approximately 1-3 microns deep and spanning the entire length of the air bearing surface of the center pad. The debris channels are effective for collecting small sized debris and passing them through the channel length and out the trailing end of the center pad. By this action, the debris are prevented from collecting along the edges, corners and on the top surface of the center pad or on and around the transducer situated on the center pad. By reducing debris in these locations, the debris does not alter the flying height of the slider with respect to the surface of the disk. Therefore, by eliminating debris around the transducer, this invention eliminates errors caused by the debris and thereby provides a more reliable disk drive.

I claim: 
     
       1. An air bearing slider for use in a disk drive, the slider comprising: a leading side and a trailing side;   first and second main rails each having an air bearing surface;   a center pad having an air bearing surface and disposed adjacent to the trailing side of the slider and between the first and second main rails, the center pad having a leading side, a trailing side, first and second side walls and a width between the first side wall and the second side wall;   a transducer disposed within the center pad;   at least one longitudinal channel disposed within the center pad between the transducer and one of the first and second side walls, the longitudinal channel extending across the air bearing surface of the center pad from the leading side of the center pad to the trailing side of the center pad in a direction substantially parallel to the main rails, the longitudinal channel for reducing contaminant buildup on the center pad by attracting contaminants and passing at least some of the contaminants through to the trailing side of the center pad; and   wherein the longitudinal channel comprises a width that is relatively small compared to the width of the center pad, such that the longitudinal channel has an insubstantial effect on air bearing flight characteristics of the slider.   
     
     
       2. The air bearing slider of claim 1 further comprising a bridge disposed between the first and the second main rails, the bridge having an air bearing surface. 
     
     
       3. The air bearing slider of claim 1 wherein the width of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns wide. 
     
     
       4. The air bearing slider of claim 1 wherein the depth of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns deep. 
     
     
       5. The air bearing slider of claim 1 wherein the length of the longitudinal channel is within a range of approximately 10-13 mils long. 
     
     
       6. The air bearing slider of claim 2 wherein the width of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns wide and wherein the depth of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns deep. 
     
     
       7. The air bearing slider of claim 2 wherein the length of the longitudinal channel is within a range of approximately 10-13 mils long. 
     
     
       8. An air bearing slider for use in a disk drive, the slider comprising: first and second main rails;   a center pad having an air bearing surface and disposed between the first and second main rails, the center pad having a leading side, a trailing side, first and second side walls and a width between the first side wall and the second side wall;   a transducer disposed within the center pad;   a first plurality of longitudinal channels disposed within the center pad between the transducer and the first side wall;   a second plurality of longitudinal channels disposed within the center pad between the transducer and the second side wall, the first and second plurality of longitudinal channels for reducing contaminant buildup on the center pad by attracting contaminants and passing at least some of the contaminants through to the trailing side of the center pad; and   wherein each longitudinal channel extends across the air bearing surface of the center pad from the leading side to the trailing side of the center pad in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of air flow over the air bearing surface of the center pad.   
     
     
       9. An air bearing slider as described in claim 8 wherein each longitudinal channel comprises a width that is relatively small compared to the width of the center pad, such that the first and second plurality of longitudinal channels have an insubstantial effect on air bearing flight characteristics of the slider. 
     
     
       10. The air bearing slider of claim 9 further comprising a bridge disposed between the first and the second main rails, the bridge having an air bearing surface. 
     
     
       11. The air bearing slider of claim 9 wherein the width of each longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns wide. 
     
     
       12. The air bearing slider of claim 9 wherein the depth of each longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns deep. 
     
     
       13. The air bearing slider of claim 10 wherein the length of each longitudinal channel is within a range of approximately 10-13 mils long. 
     
     
       14. The air bearing slider of claim 10 wherein the width of each longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns wide and wherein the depth of each longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns deep. 
     
     
       15. The air bearing slider of claim 10 wherein the length of each longitudinal channel is within a range of approximately 10-13 mils long. 
     
     
       16. The air bearing slider of claim 8 wherein the first and second plurality of longitudinal channels reduces contaminant buildup on the air bearing surface of the center pad. 
     
     
       17. A disk drive comprising: a) a disk coupled to a spindle motor,   b) a rotary actuator arrangement having a head stack assembly; and   c) wherein the head stack assembly comprises an actuator arm coupled to an air bearing slider, the air bearing slider comprising:   first and second main rails each having an air bearing surface;   a center pad having an air bearing surface and disposed adjacent to a trailing side of the slider and between the first and second main rails, the center pad having a leading side, a trailing side, first and second side walls and a width between the first side wall and the second side wall;   a transducer disposed within the center pad;   at least one longitudinal channel disposed within the center pad between the transducer and one of the first and second side walls, the longitudinal channel extending across the air bearing surface of the center pad from the leading side of the center pad to the trailing side of the center pad in a direction substantially parallel the direction of air flow over the air bearing surface of the center pad, the longitudinal channel for reducing contaminant buildup on the center pad by attracting contaminants and passing at least some of the contaminants through to the trailing side of the center pad; and   wherein the longitudinal channel comprises a width that is relatively small compared to the width of the center pad, such that the longitudinal channel has an insubstantial effect on air bearing flight characteristics of the slider.   
     
     
       18. The disk drive of claim 17 further comprising a bridge disposed between the first and the second main rails, the bridge having an air bearing surface. 
     
     
       19. The disk drive of claim 17 wherein the width of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns wide and wherein the depth of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns deep. 
     
     
       20. The disk drive of claim 17 wherein the length of the longitudinal channel is within a range of approximately 10-13 mils long. 
     
     
       21. The disk drive of claim 18 wherein the width of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns wide, wherein the depth of the longitudinal channel is approximately 1-3 microns deep and wherein the length of the longitudinal channel is within a range of approximately 10-13 mils long.